Like Fragile Glass
by labyrinthfan4
Summary: When Toby wishes himself away, Sarah and Karen must work together to solve the Labyrinth in time. But will their bickering and arguing get in the way?
1. Chapter 1

Sarah didn't know why Jareth let Karen come along. Her stepmother was unbearable with the constant nagging and arguing. Maybe Jareth knew this fact. Maybe it was his form of punishment for the broken heart she caused him ten years before.

Now Sarah and Karen stood before the walls of the Labyrinth. Everything had happened so fast. One moment Sarah was visiting home, the next the ever curious Toby was wishing himself away after stumbling across the little red book. Sarah thought she had thrown it away for good. It was too late by time she and Karen heard the crash upstairs. Their latest argument was put on hold as they rushed up to Toby's room only to find the goblin king himself standing there. Sarah was furious but tried to stay under control before the man that stood before her. To Jareth's amusement and Sarah's annoyance, Karen was hysterical and kept threatening to call the police.

Sarah didn't need to think twice before she accepted the offer to rescue her brother again. Over the years they had become close and she would do anything to save him. Karen, with her mother's instinct, of course demanded to come along to save her only son.

Now here they were in the Labyrinth. Sarah looked off into the distance. The castle beyond the goblin city peeked over the top of the outer walls. She knew that if she could solve the puzzle before, she could solve it again. She was older and wiser. She wasn't afraid of Jareth or his tricks anymore.

"You have nine hours to solve the Labyrinth," Jareth waved his hand in a circle making the floating clock appear to wind itself.

Karen stared incredulous at the magic that appeared before her. Sarah spun around. "Nine hours? What happened to thirteen?"

Jareth gave a sly smile. "I thought I'd make things more interesting this time around."

Karen turned to Sarah. "This time?" When was the first time? Sarah, when was the first time?"

Sarah ignored her stepmother. "Fine. If that's how you want to play."

Jareth was already beginning to vanish. "I'll see you at the finish line, precious. That is, of course, if you make it."

"Oh, I'll be there." A part of Sarah doubted it as Karen continued to nag her.

"Sarah, when did you meet that man?" Her stepmother wasn't the ideal sidekick. Sarah rolled her eyes as Karen became more insistent. "Don't roll your eyes at me. Now I'm asking you a question. When and where did you meet this man?"

By this point Jareth had left them to it. "Does it matter?" Sarah hated sounding like a teenager but Karen had a knack of bringing out the worst in her.

"Yes! It does matter", Karen put her hands on her hips, "Who else have you been meeting? Axe murders?"

"What? No! I thought you wanted me to meet people."

"Yes, but not kidnappers!"

"First off, Jareth isn't technically-"

"I don't care who Jared is! I want to know-"

Sarah grunted. "Karen, we only have nine hours before Toby gets turned into a goblin forever!"

"That's ridiculous."

"That's the truth! We don't have much time. Can we please get going? Toby's expecting us to find him."

Karen looked at the outer walls of the Labyrinth. They were cracking and the plants had over grown since the last time Sarah visited. "Okay. But I expect a full explanation."

"I promise as soon as we get home with Toby, I will." Sarah headed towards the wall. Karen's hand suddenly caught Sarah's arm. The younger woman turned around. "Toby won't really be turned into a goblin, will he? I mean, I know sometimes he acts like one but honestly…"

Sarah sighed. "Not if we get moving." Karen nodded and followed after her.

Sarah had expected to see Hoggle by now but the dwarf was nowhere to be found. Hundreds of fairies floated about which seemed odd to her. Where was Hoggle? He wouldn't have let the little fairies run wild much less let the plants become over grown.

She was careful not to get too close to the wall. She could almost feel the sharp pain in her hand as the memory of her last encounter with one of the winged creatures came back. But Karen didn't know about it. "Are these…are those fairies?"

Sarah walked along the length of the wall trying to find the doors. "Keep your distance. They're known to-"

"Ow!"

Sarah spun around. Karen was desperately trying to shake off one fairy that was biting her little finger. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Sarah swatted that the little creature. "Shoo! Shoo!" The fairy became annoyed at her swatting. He let go—to Karen's relief—but charged at Sarah's head. She yelped and ducked it. The little fairy flew away, satisfied with his warning.

"Are you okay?"

Karen squeezed her finger. "I think so. Oh, that hurt."

Sarah began her search again for the giant doors that led into the Labyrinth. "I tried to warn you."

"I didn't hear you say anything."

"I did. I said they're known to bite so don't get to close."

"I heard nothing.

"Because I didn't get-"

"You could have said it before we got close. You never give me any warning. Not here, not back at home. You know, it would have been nice if you called earlier and told me you were coming over today."

"You always bring that up! I knew you were going to say it eventually."

"Don't you think I have plans on a Friday?"

Sarah was becoming increasingly annoyed. "You never asked me what my plans were when I was still living at home."

"I always told you when we were going out! You were just too busy playing dress up."

By this point Sarah had already checked out of the conversation. She had stopped walking and Karen stopped beside her. A huge chunk of wall was missing. Sarah guessed this must be where the doors had been as she knelt down and picked up a fragment of wood. She brushed off the dirt caked on it. "What happened here?"

Karen peeked around the corner of the broken wall. "Isn't this how it's supposed to be?"

Sarah tossed the wood chip aside. "There should have been doors here. Hoggle should have showed up by now."

Karen looked from left to right before lifting her leg over the chunk of broken wall. Sarah put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm going inside to save your brother."

"You can't just go in."

"Why not?"

"Because…you have to ask the right question."

Karen crossed her arms. "To whom? Those fairies over there?" Sarah looked around. "To…I don't know."

Karen began to climb over the wall again. "Well I'm going in. You can stay out here and figure it out all you want. That Jack guy said we only have nine hours."

Sarah decided it wasn't worth it correcting Karen. She was already heading down the left passage. Sarah stumbled over the wall, trying to catch up. "Hey, we need to go right."

Karen didn't even look back. "Be my guest."

Sarah looked behind her. What was once a pathway was now blocked by broken rubble. The only way to go was left. She reluctantly jogged after Karen. "We could climb and see what's on the other side."

"And break my arm? No thank you. That pile of stones does not look stable enough."

Sarah looked back. Karen had a point. Besides, there was something in her that told her climbing maybe wasn't the best option. They walked along the path for some time. Karen kept the lead while Sarah ran her hand along the wall trying to find any openings.

Karen pushed aside another broken branch. "How long does this go?"

Sarah shrugged. "Who knows? There should be an opening around here somewhere."

"Well I'm not seeing any—ahh!"

Sarah watched in shock as Karen fell through a hidden oubliette. She rushed to the opening, getting on her hands and knees. She coughed as she waved aside the dust. "Karen?" Her voice echoed back to her. Beyond was only darkness.

It took a moment before she heard a small voice calling up from somewhere below. "Sarah?"

"Are you alright?"

"I…I think I twisted my ankle. But yes, I'm alright."

Sarah sighed in relief. Karen called up again. "How do you get out of here?"

Sarah tried her best to see what was happening. "Is there a dwarf down there with you?" She hoped there wasn't but perhaps Hoggle had been thrown into some oubliette for helping her solve the Labyrinth. She had been in contact with him and her other friends in the Labyrinth but only for a brief time. The last time she talked to Hoggle he seemed afraid of something. She remembered he had told her that the Labyrinth was changing.

Karen replied. "No…I don't think so. There are a lot of bones down here, though."

"Just hold on, I'll figure something out." Sarah looked at the rubble around her. Was this what Hoggle meant? The clock was ticking. She had to do something, and fast.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah sat on her haunches and instinctively ran a hand through her long dark hair. What was she going to do? For a brief moment she thought about leaving Karen in the oubliette. She could finish the Labyrinth herself and in half the time. But Sarah quickly dismissed the idea. No matter how much she despised Karen, her father still loved her. Toby loved her. She was still family.

Sarah looked around. In her previous journey she remembered stepping over the occasional fallen tree branch but this time there was none to be found. The only thing scattered about was rubble and small, thin twigs. She looked back down into the pit. It was pitch black. Maybe there was a door down there like the one Hoggle had shown her.

She took a deep breath as she made up her mind. If anything, Jareth wouldn't let her rot for eternity, would he? From her previous relationships, Sarah knew what it was like to be heartbroken but what was she supposed to say? She was just fifteen back then. She had a life back home and dreams to pursue. Turns out trying to become an actor wasn't as easy as she had planned.

Sarah swung her feet over the edge. "I'm coming down."

Karen called back up. "No! Sarah don't-"

But Sarah had already jumped down. The fall had been longer than the last oubliette she encountered. She landed harder than expected. Pain shot through her legs as she made impact. She rolled onto her side hugging her legs close to her. "Bog dammit!"

Karen came rushing over holding the lighter she had been carrying in her pocket. She began to help Sarah up with her free hand. "I'll never know why you say that."

Sarah fought through the pain and stood. "Let's keep it that way. You told me you stopped smoking."

"I did. I just have an occasional one every now and then."

"That's not quitting if you do it here and there."

"Well it's a lot less than what it used to be. I'm going in baby steps."

Sarah shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Give me that." She took the lighter and began to look around. The oubliette was smaller than the one she fell into ten years prior. Karen had been right; bones littered the dirt floor. She began making her way to one side with her arm outstretched, trying to feel for any opening.

"I wouldn't go over there."

Sarah looked over at Karen. Her eyes were adjusting but it was still hard to make out the outline of her stepmother. "Why?"

"There's a skeleton that hasn't fully decomposed."

Sarah brought the lighter lower. As she swept it across the room the little light illuminated more broken and scattered bones. Suddenly Sarah saw it. She gasped and jumped back. The dwarf's skeleton was mostly decomposed except for some patches of skin on the face and silver hair.

Sarah knelt down beside it. Was it Hoggle? She reached out gingerly and touched the corpse's white shirt. Karen hit the back of her hand. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't touch it. You'll pick up some disease."

Sarah shook her head. She brought the lighter up to observe the skeleton once more. She noticed that in one hand he held a sword while the other held a shield. Sarah sighed in relief. Hoggle may have gotten braver by the end of their journey but she couldn't imagine him being brave enough to wield a sword.

Karen crossed her arms. "Now what do we do?" Sarah stood up. "There should be a door around here. At least, last time there was."

She walked past Karen to check the other side of the oubliette. Her stretched out hand ran along the walls but found nothing. She brought the lighter lower again and looked on the ground. Maybe one of these skeletons had something they could use.

A sparkling glint caught her eye. She bent down and picked up a silver badge shaped like a shield. With her thumb she brushed off the dirt to reveal an emblem of a hammer and pick ax. Strange writing was engraved along the outer edge. Karen came up behind her. "Anything?"

Sarah pocketed the badge. "Not yet. But there might be something we could use to climb out of here." She spotted exactly what she needed. A few feet away a neatly wrapped grappling hook rested on the floor. She bent down and picked it up.

"Here." Sarah handed the lighter back to Karen. The older woman watched as she swung the hook preparing to toss it up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"We don't know how old that thing is. It could snap."

Sarah looked up with determined eyes. Above the early morning sun was shining brightly. "There's only one way to find out."

* * *

Toby walked down the wide hall of the castle. He observed the elaborate paintings as he strolled along. Each artwork displayed various sceneries of the Labyrinth and beyond. Sometimes a goblin or two would pass by going about their staff duties or chasing runaway chickens. Toby was fascinated by them. They seemed strangely familiar but maybe he just saw them in a dream.

Right. Left. Left. Right. Eventually he came to a door that interested him very much. The gold leaves and vines inlaid into the wood glinted in the sunlight that shone through the castle windows. Toby knocked on the door. Nothing. He reached for the handle but drew back when he saw it turning. Jareth opened the tall wooden doors a crack.

"I thought I told you—oh," He looked down at the boy. "Exploring the castle I see."

"Yeah, I guess." Toby looked past him. "Is that a telescope?"

Jareth opened the door wider. "Well, yes but-"

"Can I see?"

Jareth thought about it for a moment before letting him enter. "Alright." The work on his desk could wait a few moments. Toby ran past the goblin king with excitement. He looked at the golden telescope with great interest.

Jareth strided over to him. "Careful. It was a gift."

Toby continued to look over the telescope, making sure not to accidentally knock it over. "Sarah's boyfriend had one like this. He got it from his grandfather or something. Sometimes he'd let me come over and look through it."

Jareth felt a tinge of jealousy pull at his heart. True he had been heartbroken but curiosity had gotten the better of him and he couldn't help but observe Sarah from afar a few times. Shortly after her leaving, the dwarf war had kept him occupied from his usual duties such as blessing chickens or finding a suitable wife according to his parent's wishes. "And this…boyfriend still let's you come over?"

Toby shook his head. "They broke up a few years ago. What's all this?" He took a few steps over to the cluttered desk. Various scrolls, maps, and letters were laid out. Jareth sat down in the velvet chair. "I was in the middle of going over the treaty between the dwarf king."

"Really?" Toby looked over the document. He had never seen such a language. "Is this Elvish?"

Jareth picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink. "Dwarvish. It's surprisingly a complicated language." He signed his signature with a flourish at the bottom of the document before setting it aside to dry. He sorted through the other various scrolls before pulling out another one and reading through it.

Toby stood beside him. "Is this all you do every day?"

"Believe me, if I could I would be off somewhere on vacation."

"Why don't you just go on vacation then?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

"Why doesn't the queen do anything? Doesn't she have to approve it too?"

Jareth stopped reading. There were many times his parents, the high king and queen of the Underground, told him it was about time he found a wife. Sometimes he would imagine Sarah sitting on a throne next to his.

Sarah.

What was she up to? It had been nearly an hour since he last checked in on her and…Karen was it? He hoped she found the grappling hook but he had no doubts his Sarah would.

Jareth put the quill back in the ink. "The Labyrinth has yet to have a queen. At least, an official one anyway."

"Oh." Toby rested his head in his hand and watched as Jareth signed his name on the document in various places.

A knock on the door made Toby jump. Jareth didn't miss a beat and continued reading and signing the document. "Come in."

A goblin peeked inside. "Your majesty, I brought the battle plans."

Jareth waved for him to enter. Toby observed the goblin that came scurrying up to the giant wooden desk. He wore metal armor that reminded him of a knight. In one hand the goblin held a scroll and in the other he held a helmet. He was stubby and round.

The goblin general quickly set his helmet down on the desk and unrolled the scroll. "I just finished drafting this myself. I believe you Excellency will find it fitting to our design."

Toby leaned over the desk, resting on his elbows. Jareth leaned in as well, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he looked over the map laid out before him. The map showed the entire Labyrinth and parts of the neighboring lands that surrounded it. Red "x"'s and dashed lines were connected in various places. Toby noticed that again it was written in a different language but it looked different from the Dwarvish document he had seen earlier. He guessed it must have been in goblin.

The general began going over the battle plans excitedly with Jareth, announcing several times that it was his idea and that he had made up the entire plan himself. Treaties may have been in order but nothing was officially signed yet. Toby tuned out what the general was saying and began looking over the map more closely. Somewhere out there, Sarah and his mother were trying to find him.

* * *

It took Sarah a few tries before the grappling hook latched onto a piece of uneven pavement. Karen climbed up first and held the rope so Sarah could follow.

Sarah rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Man, I need to get back in shape." Karen was also panting. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She tried leaning against the wall but fell through.

Sarah turned around as she yelped. At least Karen was good for something. She helped her up and Karen brushed the dust off her bottom. "Is that the opening you were trying to find?"

Sarah looked from left to right. "Yup. Nothing is what it seems in this place." She continued down the right path. Karen reluctantly followed her. "I'll say."

They walked on for some time, arguing about which way they should go. As with most of their arguments, it always turned into something bigger as they each brought up stuff about the past. Eventually they agreed to switch back and forth between who would decided which way to go. Sarah would choose one way and then Karen would pick the path at the next fork in the road.

To Karen, the stone walls looked the same after some time and she began to wonder if they were going in circles. Sarah kept her hopes up. They had to be going the right way.

Neither woman had talked to the other for some time besides the occasional "Go left" or "Turn right". Sarah thought that if they were still Aboveground, she would have either retreated back to her old room upstairs or go back to her apartment depending on the situation. But they were stuck together, at least for the time being. She wondered how much time they had left.

As she got lost in her thoughts her eyes wandered towards the castle in the distance. They had to be getting closer, right? Something about the Labyrinth seemed so different this time around.

"Sarah!"

Karen's voice brought her out of her trance. Her arm was pulled back as Karen grabbed her. Sarah quickly jumped back when she saw how close the wall of thorns was. She looked at the wall and then around the corner. "I don't remember this before."

Karen and Sarah looked as far as they could into the distance. A maze of rose thorns stretched out before them. The fog began to roll in.


End file.
